Passing thru OKC, want to visit National Memorial & Museum
 

Hello Okies,

I'm passing through your fine city of OKC on business this week and staying a night at a Courtyard Northwest Expressway on my way back to Austin. Is that a decent hotel?

I've always wanted to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, dedicated to those that lost their lives in the bombing of the Federal Building.

Have any of you visited the museum and memorial? How long should I reserve to do both properly.

Also, give me some recommendations for dinner. I'm looking for an upscale eatery that typifies the regional cuisine.

Thanks.

ttt

ttt again.
We'll be passing through in October and I'm also interested.

Challiman,

I'm heading there today so I'll give you an update after I've visited.

Challiman,

I just returned from a visit to the OKC National Museum and Memorial.

The Memorial is a stunning tribute to those who lost their lives, and is visually and architectually appealing. The fence outside the memorial on the west side is moving - I was actually brought to tears by some of the poems and prayers. There are park rangers there to answer any questions you may have.

The Museum is very well done and leaves no stone unturned. I spent 1.5 hours until I was literally the last one in the building and they had to kick me out. I probably could have spent 4 or more hours in there to truly read through all the diaries, etc...

There were visitors from around the world when I was there, including many from NY/NJ who suffered through 911 and were paying respects to OKC.

If you are in OKC, you absolutely MUST see this Memorial.

thanks for writing about it. We've been to OKC several times, but we've never been to the Memorial. Now I feel we must go!

thanks for writing about it. I am hoping to get back this fall to see my Mom. We went to the Memorial but did not get to the museum and it is on my list for next visit.

im a native of okc, here to assist you all. first off, the memorial doesnt do the museum justice..theres sooo much more to see in the museum, and if youre a visitor to the outdoor memorial, the museum is a must-see because it not only recounts the tragedy of april 19th 1995..but provides an in-depth scope of events in the days and weeks following afterwards.

as far as the outdoor memorial goes..to the slight north of the survivor tree exists a small aspect that most visitors to the memorial often overlook..it is a message spray-painted in black against the wall of the museum building itself by a team of paramedics who were frustrated in not knowing who, at that time, the perpetrator of the attack was.

gm, all these years and I've never noticed the spray paint area. I'll check it out next time I walk through.

I agree it is a must see. There are many that live here that can't bring themselves to visit the museum or walk the memorial as that day holds too many bad memories. That day is still crystal clear in my memory.

I'm very happy to hear that someone outside of here appreciated the memorial and what it represents. It really is a beautiful memorial.

Thank you for your information on the memorial and museum. I don't quite know how I missed this post after your visit, bkluvsNola, but thanks for taking the time to post a follow up.
I'm sorry to say that our route had to change and we did not get through OKC as planned this trip. Our time frame and travel dates changed. But this is definitely on our "to do" list.
That event is really burned into my mind, will never forget the awful images as the victims were carried out of the rubble.

I thought the memorial was very nice. I thought the museum was poorly laid out. The most interesting parts were the devastated room that shows the rubble, and the clues that incriminated McVeigh.

If I went to OKC again, I would skip that museum and spend time at the 45th Infantry Division Museum. A free (donation) museum. One of the best military museums I have ever seen. Featured displays are a fabulous collection of Bill Mauldin's 'Willie and Joe' cartoons from WWII and items taken from Hitler's Munich office and the Eagles Nest. The 45th also liberated Dachau and there are accounts and photos of the first troops to witness the horror.

There is also a very fine art museum downtown and the Cowboy Museum in the northeastern sector of the city, though I have to admit to not having been there for a number of years.